Scornful Love
by ladymars
Summary: When working with a loved one, there is a thin line drawn between love and hate.


Scornful Love

Lady Mars

New day, new anime. Stupid MTV, got me hooked on another one. I don't own Heat Guy J, but I LOVE Pioneer for bringing it here. Now go easy on me, I'm working off the 8/ 9 episodes I've seen. Fun stuff. Onto the story!

***

"What the fuck is the matter with you?" His anger reverberated off all the walls of his office. Never before had the other seen the brunt of his anger come out in this much force, much less at all. "I would think you have more sense than this, but you obviously don't." The elder turned away from his desk to the scenic overlook; his day wasn't going up to his usual state of par, and this wasn't helping in the least. "I try my damnedest, MY DAMNEDEST, to give you everything you want for your department, and I know that I haven't delivered many times, but this is out of hand. I give you an android, A FUCKING ANDROID DICE, for a partner and you still come in here looking like this? You're 21 for shit's sake, you should be able to handle yourself out there alone, but it's clearly obvious that you can't. I thought you told me, swore to me, that you would NEVER pull one of these stunts again."

"It wasn't…" Daisuke started.

"I don't CARE what it WAS," Shun growled, turning back to face his brother again. "I DO care that you A) blew up a good chunk of the city, B) almost flooded the ENTIRE city, and C) almost got your partner blown into thousands of unrecognizable pieces. What were you thinking?" Daisuke didn't answer; he knew better than to answer. Shun had inherited the cool temperament of their father, but when he was mad it was assured that hell would be delivered to any who decided to talk back to him. "It's obvious by the state that you are that you weren't." Daisuke took a steadying breath, trying to keep his resolve; the last thing he wanted to do was get into a fist fight with his brother right now. He was in enough pain by his own accord and he didn't need his brother adding to his to his ever growing emotional pain with additional physical pain. "I really thought that after that bridge dive you did into concrete would have taught you not to dive into water you CAN SEE INTO." Daisuke rubbed at the back of his neck, trying to relieve the stiffness that was setting in. The pain was lancing up and down his back as each of the muscles tightened into thousands of knots. This was all on top of the screaming pain radiating from his lower back.

When he had first entered the agency, he had been placed among another unit, working under another commander. In an act of pure defiance and an act of pure stupidity, he had taken a swan dive off of the main bridge in and out of Judoh after an escaping convict. He had gotten the convict in the end, but that victory had come with a heavy price. He had done his swan dive into one of the concrete bridge supports masked by the hazy water. He was lucky to have walked away from the 'accident,' as it was lovingly referred to, with nothing more than a pair of fused vertebrae and a lifetime of flare ups. Flare ups like the one he was now experiencing now. The lancing pain only occurred when he pushed himself too far, like he had done earlier today on the assignment. He knew then that he would pay for it, and now he wished he hadn't pushed himself so far. _'My physical pain is nothing compared to the emotional pain that the child's death would have brought.'_ "But it's also obvious that you haven't learned that either. You're damn lucky that you didn't give a repeat performance today. But at least this time you would have deserved to suffer alone." Out of everything Shun had ever told him, this one stung the most. His family and his job were the only thing he had left and hearing Shun take a crack at him like that drove his anguish even further home. 

Daisuke chewed on his lip a bit harder, adding additional cracks to the already abused flesh. He knew that if he stood in the tormenting gaze of his brother any longer, he would loose it. He had been standing in Shun's office for far too long and he knew if he stood there any longer, he would end up in a pile on the floor. But it's not like Shun would notice; he would carry on ranting until he went to leave and stepped on him. Daisuke chuckled lightly; that would be the perfect ending to his day. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LAUGHING ABOUT?" Daisuke's attention snapped back to his brother who was now madder than ever.  He shrunk slightly under Shun's condescending glare. This was most certainly the last thing he wanted right now.

"Nothing," he muttered quietly. 

"Nothing is it?" Shun shot back bitterly. "If it's nothing then why do you look so scared all of a sudden? Maybe it's because you haven't been listening to me, HAVE YOU?" Daisuke didn't reply, he just shot a cold gaze at his brother. "I take it by the lack of response that you haven't. What do I have to do Dice, what do I have to do to get you to pay bloody attention to me? I've been trying to get it through that thick skull of yours that this behavior is STUPID and needs to END before you get yourself killed. Do you understand that?" Daisuke still didn't reply. "I don't even know why I bother with you anymore; you're not worth the AIR." Daisuke's blood ran cold; he lowered his head and muttered to himself. "What was that? If you're going to insult me, at LEAST give me the good graces of doing it to my FACE." Daisuke looked up at Shun, tears welling up in his eyes. 

"Who the fuck do you think you are insulting me like that? Dad?" Daisuke growled. Shun's gaze hardened again.

"What did you say?" he growled.

"I said," Daisuke replied, growing angered. "WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE INSULTING ME LIKE THAT? You know, ever since Dad died, I've ALWAYS played second banana to you and I'M FUCKING TIRED OF IT! Whenever someone sees me it's always, 'Hey, aren't you Shun's brother?' Do you know how tiring it gets hearing that over and OVER AGAIN? It's gotten to the point where I'm starting to think I don't even exist anymore! What good am I TO ANYONE if I have to be living in YOUR SHADOW?  You know as well as I do that everyone says that I'll NEVER be half the man that you are but the LEAST you could do is give me the chance to prove myself! That's what this "stunt" was about. I was doing this to show the world that I'm NOT you're fucking shadow." He stopped and took a deep breath, finally beginning to loose control. He swiped at the forming tears, which caused them to mix with the blood on his face and get pushed into his eye. He winced at the intrusion, but carried on. "But every time I try to do something right, it goes horribly wrong. And every time something goes horribly wrong I always end up here, on the business end of a beating and a ranting.  And personally, I'M SICK OF IT! If you have such a problem with me and my little 'stunts,' as you call them, then FUCKING DO IT ALL READY! JUST FUCKING FIRE ME! If I'm that much of a hazard, an unstable unit, to your precious Agency, then just FUCKING FIRE ME! I can always find work elsewhere…" Daisuke turned his head and refused to meet Shun's gaze.

"Is that what you think this is about?" Shun asked quietly. "IS THAT WHAT YOU THINK THIS IS ABOUT? God Dice I…" He half snorted, half chuckled. "I don't know what to say to that. Where in the name of hell did you get that idea?"

"What idea?" Daisuke growled.

"The idea that you're living in my shadow…" Daisuke looked up again, scorn etched into his gaze.

"That you're the 'better' son? That you're the 'FAVORITE' son?" Shun was taken aback at this statement; Daisuke scoffed at his brother's reaction. "Oh don't give me that bull shit; you know damn well that mom and dad like you better. You had the brains, the ability, the DRIVE to do something with your life. Me? I'm NOTHING compared to you. I've always been a failure compared to you. So why don't you just get it over with now; make me the ultimate failure Shun. Fire me and get it over with so I can go home, get cleaned up, and start my miserable life over again." Shun stared at his brother in disbelief. He couldn't believe that Daisuke would ever think that.

"What the fuck is the matter with you Daisuke?" Shun spat. "You really shouldn't think that way. You know damn well that our parents never favored one of us over the other, EVER. So you can wipe that thought out of your head right now. The reason I called you here ahs nothing to do with family. I called you here because you are being reckless, careless, and STUPID. This has got nothing to do with what mom and dad think. This is between us and us alone."

"So what the fuck am I standing here for?" Daisuke shot back. "You've ranted at me, gotten your point across, and now we're both pissed off. Are you done?" Shun didn't reply. "I'll take that as a yes." He turned and began to walk to the door.

"Daisuke Aurora, you take another step towards that door and you won't have a job to come back to tomorrow morning." Daisuke stopped. "You're lucky you even HAVE a job right now. I could have fired you half a dozen times; I SHOULD have fired you. But you know why I didn't? Because you're the ONLY ONE here crazy enough to handle that job. That's why there are only TWO OF YOU working the street in your unit; no one else is crazy enough to take it." Daisuke scoffed.

"So that's why you keep me around." He turned back around to face Shun again. "You're keeping me because I'm crazy?" Daisuke scoffed. "Good reasoning there Shun, good reasoning. Tell the one you're grasping at straws to keep that the only reason that you're keeping him is because he's NUTS. And the real kicker here is that person is your OWN DAMN BROTHER. You're doing one hell of a job convincing me that I SHOULD stay here Shun. You are really making me feel like I belong here." Daisuke shifted again, trying to relieve the pain lancing through his back. "But it's not like anyone around here has EVER made me feel like I belong. But what does it matter anyway? No one cares about what I do day in and day out. No one even fucking cares that I exist.  But you wouldn't know that would you? Hell no! Because you don't know how to actually communicate. No, I take that back, you don't know how to communicate with ME. God forbid the high and mighty chief take the time to physically find out how his worthless nut of a little brother is doing. I'm glad to know that you care about me Shun; I really am, because you haven't shown the slightest bit of concern over the fact that I'M BLEEDING ALL OVER YOUR FLOOR! God forbid you actually have to think about the person you're chewing out ahead of your precious agency! GOD FORBID YOU PUT SOMEONE ELSE AHEAD OF YOURSELF YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD! GOD FUCKING FORBID YOU HAVE TO SHOW EMOTION WHEN SOMEON IS HURTING! YOU NEED TO OPEN YOUR FUCKING EYES SHUN! OPEN YOUR DAMN EYES AND REALISE THAT THE WHOLE WORLD DOESN'T REVOLVE AROUND YOU, YOU HEARTLESS, DEMEANING, CONDESCENDING MOTHERFUCKER!" 

Shun stared coldly at his younger brother, his eyes glazed over in rage. He would never have fathomed that Daisuke could have ever though of any of what he had just said, let alone actually say it. But he had; he had let the words flow unabated from his mouth and into the now silent air. 

The elder Aurora stalked around the desk and up to his younger brother. The pair stared each other down for a few moments. Neither of them was willing to back down from this fight. The stare down would have continued had Shun's fist not connected with the right side of Daisuke's face.

The younger man landed, sprawling out on the cold tile floor. He stayed in the sprawled out position before pushing himself up to sit. He dazedly lifted his hand to his face, feeling the swelling flesh beneath his fingers. 

"If you are quite done, you can leave now," Shun growled. Daisuke slowly got to his feet, giving his brother one final glare before leaving.

Shun shook his head as he watched his bother walk out. He sighed when the door clicked shut, signifying Daisuke's departure, his stress starting to melt away. _'What am I to do with him?'_

***

Kyoko shifted the phone from her left ear to her right. All she had heard about Daisuke's little 'disaster' had been secondhand from anyone who wanted a piece of the man when he finally surfaced again. It seemed to her that her usually plucky co-worker had drawn all the wrong cards today. It seemed like everyone wanted to see him, or kill him, for what had happened. _'And to think, I don't even know WHAT he did. I would flip on the news if I could ever get away from the phone…'_ The phone line clicked back over from the hold she'd been placed on and the angered voice of Dr. Antonia Bellucci echoed through the receiver again.

"No, no Antonia, he ISN'T HERE," she tried to say as calmly as the situation would allow. "Yes, I will pass along the message. What? Make sure he dies? No. Oh. YOU'LL make sure he dies, got you. Yes, yes. He'll get it. How can you be sure? Well, let's just say you're not the only one giving out death threats today."  She listened half heartedly as the doctor ranted on some more. "Yes, I know. Look, you'll be the first one he gets after his brother finishes with him. Yes, yes, I will. Ok. You have a good day. Uh-huh. All right, good-bye." She gently hung the phone up and pinched the bridge of her nose; the boy was becoming more and more of a hassle as time went on. 

She shifted to go back to her work; every time Dice made a mess, it was her job to sort it all out again. This time was no exception. _'Only this time I have more to clean up.'_ She was rapidly beginning to understand why so many people were mad at Daisuke; he had bungled things very nicely this time and had broken quite a few bridges doing it. She had never seen him be so reckless before and it made her wonder what made him do it now. 

She noted duly when the door swung open and shut again, but she didn't acknowledge her officemate's presence right away. She watched him rummage through one of his desk drawers for a few moments before saying anything. "Glad you finally decided to return." Daisuke visibly tensed under her cold words. "Do you have any idea what this stunt of yours has brought about? Do you know how many calls I've gotten from people who want you dead?" Daisuke's shoulders dropped._ 'Please Kyoko, not you too. Another ranting like this and I won't make it home…'_  "Do you have any idea how much of a mess I have to clean up now?" Daisuke gripped the edge of his desk a bit tighter; there was no way he was going to be able to last through another round of degradation. "Is there anything you'd like to add before I unleash the hounds of hell on your worthless soul?"

"Don't do this to me," he mumbled, choking back tears.

"What? You're going to have to speak up Daisuke," Kyoko replied. Daisuke took a few shaky breaths to steady himself before trying again. He turned his head to the left so she could hear him better.

"Don't do this to me Kyoko," he replied, his voice cracking from the strain of holding back his emotions. He tried again to steady himself, but it didn't work. "I just can't handle taking another beating." Kyoko's brow knitted.

"Another beating?" she questioned. "What do you mean Daisuke?" Daisuke shook his head and swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat.

"Just forget it," he mumbled and resumed rummaging through the drawers again.

Not easily deterred, Kyoko got up from her chair and walked over to Daisuke. She gently placed her hand on his shoulder to draw his attention to her, but he shied away from her touch. 

"Daisuke?" she asked quietly. Her question hung in the air awaiting some sort of reaction from the man. Daisuke didn't answer. "Daisuke?" She leaned in a bit closer to him and finally got a solid view of what was going on with her officemate.

Daisuke was choking back his sobs, but the tears that were sliding down the planes of his face and crashing onto the desktop gave away everything going through the man's head at the moment. He was biting his lip, trying to quell the flood of emotions that had overtaken his senses, but that resulted in another trail of blood leading down his already cut face. He looked like he had been to hell and back and was slowly making a return trip to the land of the dead. 

Kayoko turned from him and walked over to her desk. She plucked a tissue from the box she had brought in because her allergies were being hellacious this year and returned to Daisuke. She licked the tissue, much like a doting mother, and pressed it to his still bleeding lip. Daisuke hissed at the pain she has caused and pulled back from the touch. Kyoko placed her left hand on the right side of his face to stop his evasion and placed the tissue to his lip again. "Don't move; you're going to bleed over everything if you don't do something about it." He relented to her request and allowed the woman to stop the bleeding. 

After a moment, Kyoko pulled the blood stained object away from Daisuke's lip to check the progress. The bleeding had stopped, but the area around the crack was swelling. She sighed, shaking her head. "What am I to do with you?" Daisuke shook is head in response; he didn't know, nor did he care. All the man wanted was to get out of the building with what was left of his pride. It had been a long day for him and the stress was really wearing on his tension worn nerves.

Kyoko watched intently as Daisuke seemed to be crumbling under her gentle touch. The man before her looked a lot older than his twenty-one year old frame should have. She pulled her hand away from his face, brushing against his nose in the process. Daisuke flinched from the gentle touch, causing Kyoko to stare at him. She would have stared at him longer had she not felt the moisture on her hand. She looked down to see a small streak of blood on her hand. "Jesus!" She grabbed another tissue from the box, turned Daisuke so he was now fully facing her, and pinched his nose shut, tilting his head back slightly. 

Daisuke's warm breath tickled her wrist in short pants. The sudden movement caused his head to spin and the pressure she had placed on his nose to stop the bleeding was spreading across the planes of his face. She was doing more harm than good, but he was in no position to complain at the present moment. 

The pair remained in that position for a few minutes, neither one speaking. 

Kyoko released her grip on Daisuke and stared at him to make sure the bleeding had fully stopped; that last thing he needed right now was to loose more blood. In the process, she got her first glance at the purple bruise that had spread across the right side of Daisuke's face. "Daisuke…?" The question didn't need to be finished; he knew what she was thinking.

Kyoko gently ran her fingers over the bruised flesh, placing slight pressure on it. Daisuke hissed in response to her gentle ministrations; it seemed everything she was doing was causing him pain. "You really should get this looked at; it could be broken." Daisuke scoffed at the comment.

"He hits hard, but not that hard," he mumbled in response. Kyoko cast a puzzled gaze at him.

"He doesn't hit that hard?" Daisuke nodded. "Wait, you're telling me that your brother, my boss and our chief, hit you?" Daisuke nodded again.

"I kinda deserved it," he mumbled again. Kyoko shook her head.

"No you didn't. No one deserves this kind of treatment." Daisuke scoffed. "What?"

"Now you're being hypocritical. You were doing the same thing he was the minute I walked through that door. The only reason it stopped is because I can't handle the stress right now." Kyoko sighed at his reply; he was right.

"That doesn't matter Dice, no one deserves this kind of treatment. Yelling, ranting, I can understand, but this? This is over the line. No one deserved to be hit for something."

"Something?" he queried.

"I'm a bit in the dark about the whole situation…"

"Let's just say I did something because it was morally right and it ended up blowing up in my face." Kyoko knitted her eyebrows.

"What did you do?"

"Save a little girl from the middle of a mafia firefight," he replied quietly. She stared back at him, stunned.

"That's what this whole mess is about? One little girl?" Daisuke nodded.

"Stupid, isn't it? All this mess and anger over a kid. And to think, I could have kept walking, not seen a thing, and none of this would have happened. If I hadn't turned to see what the god forsaken noise was, none of this would have happened."

"But a little girl would have died unnecessarily…" 

"I know. So I guess it's a good thing that I did turn to look. I may look and feel like hell, but at least the kid is ok and her mother was happy…" Kyoko smiled half heartedly at his reply. She could still see the mental battle in his eye, but she wasn't going to press the matter. Seeing him cry once was enough for one day.

"Why don't you go home and get cleaned up? It looks like you need a shower and two months worth of sleep right now. That and you really need to get ice on your face before it gets worse." Daisuke snorted lightly.

"I would, but I can't find my keys." Kyoko pulled his keys out of her pocket and placed them in his right hand. "How did you..?"

"You threw them at me when I told you that Shun wanted to see you in his office, remember?" Daisuke sighed.

"Right. But what about…?"

"I've got it. I always handle the clean up, remember?" Daisuke nodded. "Now go before I throw you out."

"Yes ma'am." He slowly walked away from he and towards the door.

"And Daisuke." He stopped and looked at her again. "It'll all work out in the end." He smiled half heartedly.

"I sure hope it does Kyoko, I sure hope it does." He turned and walked out of the door. Kyoko sighed once she was sure he was gone. _'For both of our sanity's sakes, I hope so too Dice.'_

***

Daisuke sat on his bed, towel draped around his shoulders, idly listening to his messages. They all had a similar theme of "if you don't call me back now, you will be going to hell in a hand basket." But he didn't really care. All the ranting had blurred into one another and he had no intentions on answering these people until they had cooled down. _'I've taken enough emotional beatings for one day…'_ He was about to delete the whole lot when another one started up.

"Hey, it's me," Kyoko's voice floated from the machine. He stopped mid-motion, wondering what she would be calling him about. _'This had better not be about the report…'_ "Antonia called. She said you weren't answering at home, so I told her I'd pass the message along if I could grab you. She's gotten J fixed and operational, but she's still pretty unhappy with you." _Gee… I wonder why…'_ "But that's about it, so I'll see you tomorrow." _'That's if I still have a job…'_ "See ya later, bye." The message finally ended and Daisuke leaned over to erase the whole lot. 

Now, bathed in silence, Daisuke was alone with his thoughts again. This was a situation that he didn't want to be in. The longer he was alone with his thoughts, the more likely he was to breakdown again. He sighed, throwing a towel onto a nearby chair and collapsed on his bed. He had ignored the innumerous small wounds he had accumulated during the day; they would have been too much of a hassle to deal with and he was feeling pretty apposed to anything except sleep.

Giving into his body's desires and ignoring his mind's complaints, Daisuke crawled under his blankets and embraced the looming darkness of sleep.

He had almost made it into oblivion when a residual pounding sprung from his door. _'Damn it.'_ Daisuke buried his head under his pillow, trying to drown out the noise. _'Maybe if they think I'm not here, they'll go away.'_ The pounding continued, reverberating in Daisuke's battered head. _'Or maybe not…'_ Daisuke sighed and crawled out of his bed.

"HANG ON!" He shouted. He immediately regretted it because it caused his head to pound more.

He swung himself out of bed and padded towards the door, running his hand through his still damp hair. He flipped the lights on as he walked through his apartment, regretting it almost immediately. The blinding light caused his head to hurt more. 

Daisuke stopped at the door and pulled it open roughly, not paying attention to who was on the other side.

"What the fuck do you…" his question died when he realized who it was he was talking to. He shifted and placed his forehead against the wall next to the door in silent realization of his stupidity. He would have remained that way if his guest hadn't spoken up.

"Daisuke?" The gentle question pulled him from his ravine. 

Daisuke righted himself and stepped out of the door way.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I've been having the shittiest of shitty days and I seem to be taking it out on whoever is available." He wasn't used to taking anything out on his partner, he knew what the android was capable of, but it was more of an act of common courtesy. The android was programmed to function like a real person, but some aspects of human emotion were just beyond his grasp.  Daisuke had noted this seemingly defect and always tried to keep his emotions on as a level of field as he could. He knew his partner appreciated his small slips, it helped him to understand the man he worked with better, but they didn't happen often. "Is there anything in that circuitry of yours that could erase this whole day and allow me to start over again?" There was a twinge of hope lingering in his question.

"I'm sorry to inform you…" J started.

"But there isn't anything in my… yeah, yeah. I know the drill." Daisuke shut the door behind his partner and walked slowly away from him. "I was just making sure. I have to keep up with what Antonia does to you, ya know?" J watched Daisuke walk into the kitchen, swung the freezer door open, and begin to rummage around in the box.

"No Daisuke, I do not understand your profound obsession with 'tinkering around with my systems,' as you call it, is." Daisuke stopped rummaging for a moment, thinking.

"I do it because I like to stay on my toes J. The more I know about you when the situations are normal, the more I can use when things get hairy."

"Hairy Daisuke?"

"What? Would you have preferred, when things turn into a clusterfuck?" J didn't reply. Daisuke sighed; sometimes his slang was also lost on the android. "A disaster J; something akin to what happened today." The android nodded.

"Yes," he replied. "Avoiding situations like that in the future would be wise." Daisuke shut the door and leaned against it.

"Did you come up with that on your own or is this a result of listening to Antonia rant all afternoon?"

"It is a combination of both factors Daisuke." Daisuke sighed.

"I thought so. Is that why you're here? You're here to drag me back to Antonia because I'm purposely avoiding the pain she wishes to inflict on my all ready severely beaten and broken body and psyche?"

"No Daisuke, it is not." Daisuke stared at his partner puzzled. 

"Then why ARE you here, if I may I ask?"

"Isn't that arbitrary since you have all ready done so?" Daisuke sighed again.

"Yes, it is. Just answer the question please."

"I am here because I was concerned about your well being Daisuke." Daisuke was a bit stunned at his partner's reply. _'Maybe he's more human than I give him credit for…'_ He placed the bag of ice he had pulled from the freezer on his bruised face.

"Well my well being is pretty well right now. It's my ego that's hurt, my conscience that's confused, and my head that keeps screaming, 'WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU UP?!' Is that good enough for you?"

"No Daisuke, it isn't."

"Then what the fuck else do you want?" Daisuke winced at his words; he didn't mean for them to come out that harshly, but they had and now he regretted it. He dropped his right hand to his side and stared at the floor. "God…" he whispered on the verge of tears again. "I'm doing really well with the communications thing today…" He pulled the freezer open, threw the bag inside, and shut it again. "Look J, I'm… I'm not really good company right now. I'm sorry about snapping at you, but I think it would be the best for both of us if we called it a night." He walked away from the android and back towards his room. "Don't worry about the door, I'll lock it later." J watched as Daisuke disappeared around the corner and back into the darkness of his room.

J contemplated his options for a moment. He knew that it might be best for Daisuke to be alone, but something else told him that Daisuke really needed company despite anything he said. His mind made up, Jay walked over to the fridge and pulled out the bag of ice before walking quietly into Daisuke's bedroom.

Daisuke was curled up on top of his blankets on his left side, trying to sleep. J walked over to his bed, squatted so he was eye level with Daisuke, and gently pressed the bag of ice on his bruise. Daisuke jumped at the sudden introduction of cold, but relaxed slightly when he felt J's other hand on his shoulder.

"You will not be able to function properly if your injuries are not properly taken care of." Daisuke smiled weakly.

"I thought I told you to leave…" J nodded.

"You did, but I thought you needed the companionship of someone else more right now than you needed to be alone with your thoughts." Daisuke scanned the android's face, trying to figure out what would drive him to do something like this.

"Why… why do you think that?" J contemplated his question for a moment.

"Because you are emotionally unstable at the present moment," he replied. Daisuke sighed; he had given the typical J answer. "That and you're my friend. And you told me once that 'a real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.' And I believe that the rest of the world has pretty much walked out on you right now." Daisuke swallowed, trying to hold back his tears again. J stood from his squat and sat down on the edge of Daisuke's bed. Daisuke didn't move as the bed shifted under J's weight.

"But why J?" Daisuke mumbled. "Why do you think I need someone right now?"

"You are emotionally distraught Daisuke. And you know as well as I do that it is not healthy nor is it wise to withhold these kinds of emotions. Are you willing to share?" Daisuke sighed and sat up, taking the bag of ice from J.

"I guess…" The pair sat silently for a few moments before Daisuke started. He set the bag of ice in his lap before starting. "It's not that I didn't deserve the backlash from doing this, I did and I knew it was coming. But what's got me worked up is that Shun and I had a knock down, drag out fight to end all fights and he actually hit me this time; he's never done that before. We've always come close to hitting each other, but we've never done it. And then out of nowhere, he hits me." Daisuke buried his head in his hands. "I don't know what I did to deserve that." He ran his hands over his face before replacing the ice over his eye. "But to make it worse, he hasn't called." J looked at his partner, slightly puzzled. "He always calls to apologize after a fight and I've been waiting and he hasn't called." Daisuke's shoulders dropped a bit. "But I guess I deserve that too, I wasn't exactly nice during our argument earlier. He's probably still seething after what I called him."

"What did you call him?"

"A heartless, demeaning, condescending motherfucker." J arched his eyebrow at Daisuke's reply. "It sounded right at that time, but now that I think about it, I shouldn't have said it. If I was him, I'd be pretty mad at me too after being called that. I just hope he's not that mad…" 

"You care deeply about him don't you?" Daisuke nodded. "And want nothing more than his acceptance for who you are?" Daisuke shook his head.

"No, that was my father. I all ready have Shun's acceptance. It's his love I'm worried about loosing." J gazed at Daisuke questioningly.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Ever since I joined the force, Shun's regarded me with what has been dubbed as 'scornful love.' He loves me just enough to keep our family together but treats me with scorn the rest of the time." He brushed at his eyes, trying to keep errant tears from falling. "And I know why he does too. He does it to prevent anyone around that building from thinking that he's spoiling me because I'm family. But that kind of treatment doesn't translate well into the real world. The first few months he was able to drop the act after work, but as time passed, he became more and more cold towards me; now I don't expect anything less than what he gives me." Daisuke took a shaky breath, trying to calm his frazzled nerves. "I'm really surprised he realizes I exist anymore. He's got his great job, his good life, and I'm not a part of that equation anymore."

"Were you two close when you were younger?" Daisuke shrugged.

"I'm not really sure; he was always there when I needed someone to talk to, someone to help me sort out my disaster of a life. Other than those times we never talked."

"So you feel like you have been abandoned?" Daisuke gave him a sarcastic smile.

"I was abandoned the day I was born. I wasn't athletically talented, I wasn't as much of as intellect, and I wasn't outspoken. I wasn't much of anything. And when you don't stand out, you tend to get ignored." A sad expression crossed the android's face. "But after a while you get used to it, I guess. I've always been the one who gets ignored by the whole world, why should things change now?" He sniffled as the first tear in the next onslaught slid down his face. "Why should, why WOULD anyone give a damn about me? I've never done anything that makes me stand out from a crowd in any sort of way. I've always been one of the lowly drones of the city and that's all I'll ever be. I'm just the crazy motherfucker of a detective on the Special Forces unit of the City Safety Management Agency." The last of Daisuke's hastily replaced walls came crumbling down. 

Daisuke's lanky form shook slightly as he cried, but he paid no heed to his partner sitting next to him. Under normal circumstances he would have tried to keep it bottled in so J didn't see the display, but he didn't have the will power to ward it off tonight. He was tired, cranky, and emotionally drained. 

J stared at him quietly, unsure of how to react to the sudden onslaught of emotion. Daisuke had always been careful about displaying his emotions and this was one that J had never seen come out of the smaller man. Unsure of what else he could do, J pulled Daisuke into a gentle embrace. Daisuke buried his head in the android's shoulder, crying a bit harder. J, at a loss for what to do, allowed Daisuke to cry until the emotion subsided. 

Daisuke shifted out the android's embrace and rubbed the remaining tears out of his eyes. He tried to put his front back up, but failed miserably at the attempt.

"Daisuke…" The man refused to meet his partner's gaze. J gently gripped his chin and turned his head to their gazes would meet. "You really should not think that way; it is detrimental to your health." Daisuke shook his head, trying to break free of J's gentle grip. "Plus you know that it isn't true." Daisuke stopped his meager struggle and stared at J. "You may be a drone of the city, but aren't we all? Being a drone doesn't make you any less of an original, UNIQUE person. You may be lost in a world that doesn't see you for the attributes that make you you, but that doesn't mean that you don't have them and that doesn't mean that someone out there won't notice them. And your brother would not have given you your job if he had not believed that you were capable of doing it and I would not have accepted you as a partner if I did not believe it myself. I have seen the way many of your counterparts do their respective jobs and I would never accept one of them for a partner. They are far more reckless in their habits than you are and I would never be able to work with any of them. I know you, I TRUST you; that is something many people will never understand. It is one thing to understand and work well with one's partner; it is a completely different thing to TRUST one's partner. Not many can say that they have complete trust in anything their partner does. I have never doubted any of your decisions before and I never will. You always know what to do, when to do it, and you never have any regrets about doing it. That is an admiral quality that many do not posses Daisuke. Do not ever loose that quality Daisuke, it makes you more of a man than anyone else I have ever known." Daisuke meekly wiped away the next round of tears before latching onto the android again.

"Thank you J," he murmured quietly. "You don't know how much that means to me." J smiled and gently ran his fingers through Daisuke's hair. The pair remained in that position until J noted that Daisuke was having problems staying awake. 

"Daisuke?" He looked up at the gentle question. "You really need to be resting." Daisuke nodded sleepily. 

J rose from his position, taking the bag of ice with him. Daisuke slid under his blankets and curled up in their warmth. J smiled and quietly walked out of the room; he was glad to see that his friend could finally fully relax after a taxing day.

*              *              *

Daisuke stretched as he walked through the office door. He had gotten a good night's sleep the night before, but that hadn't prevented all of the little aches and pains from returning that morning when he rolled out of bed. He rubbed the back of his neck, wondering if another bruise was forming there.

"Daisuke?" He looked up at the looming form of J. "Are you all right."

"Yeah J," he mumbled. "It's just my floor doesn't have as much give as I thought it did." J cast him a quizzical gaze and Kyoko giggled quietly. 

"Have a bit too much to drink last night Dice?" she queried. Daisuke dropped into his chair, facing her with a half cocked smile plastered on his face.

"No Kyoko," he replied in a smart tone. "I didn't. My back decided to wind itself tighter than the support cables on the main bridge. Makes it AWFULLY hard to move if your muscles are unyielding, now doesn't it?" Kyoko smiled and nodded her agreement. 

"I guess it would" she replied. Daisuke leaned back in his chair, pushing it up against his desk. "That and your not complaining enough to be hung over." Daisuke chuckled lightly.

"I can fix that," he replied. Kyoko reached into the top drawer, her face sobering. 

"I think I can handle that for myself," she replied quietly. 

Kyoko leaned over her desk, extending an envelope to Daisuke. Daisuke took it with slight apprehension; he had a vague idea what it was, but he didn't really have any desire to find out what it truly was. 

He pulled his knife out his pocket and slid the blade under the seal, opening the envelope in one clean swoop. He pried it open cautiously and pulled out the folded sheet of paper out of it. He snapped the sheet of paper, opening the letter. He scanned the typed words, his face turning into a cold scowl. He folded the letter back up and leaned over to hand it back to Kyoko. She took it apprehensively.

"Well?" she asked meekly. Daisuke shrugged half heartedly.

"It's not a pink slip," he replied coldly. Kyoko unfolded the sheet and scanned over it. "But I think that would have been a better fate." Kyoko's eyes locked on the one sentence she never wanted to see: restricted to desk work until further notice. She set the letter down on her desk and sighed.

"He's pretty mad at you isn't he?" Daisuke snorted.

"This isn't mad," he mumbled. "Mad would have had a time limit on it. This, this is enraged. If he had made it to furious, I would be gone. I kinda wish he had gotten that mad, at least then I wouldn't have to face the backlash from this." Kyoko sighed and was going to reply when the phone rang. She picked it up, casting Daisuke a cold glance that screamed 'we're not done with this conversation.' Daisuke rolled his eyes and turned back to his computer.

"Hello? Yes, yes he's here," Kyoko said. "Hang on." She pressed the hold button. "Daisuke?" He stopped typing. "Antonia on one." Daisuke sighed, picked up the phone, and resumed typing.

"Aurora," he stated flatly. He continued typing unperturbed as Antonia prattled on in his ear. He was focused more on his work than the angered woman on the other end of the line. He carried on until something Antonia said. "What was that?" he finally replied. "What did you say?" He sighed angrily at the last comment. "You know Antonia, I don't know what to say about that. God forbid you actually see beyond the surface of what I was doing. What? Well you know what, FUCK YOU. I could care less about what you think about me or what you think about anything that I do. What? Oh really? Is that so? Well you know what, I DON'T GIVE A SHIT. YOU CAN TAKE YOU'RE FUCKING OPINIONS AND CRITICISMS ABOUT HOW I WORK AND SHOVE THEM UP YOUR ASS." He slammed the phone down and went back to his work.

Kyoko sat quietly watching him work, wanting to probe him further about the earlier thoughts, but she decided against it after seeing his outburst towards the doctor.

The pair worked quietly for the rest of the morning, the tension hanging think in the air. 

Early in the afternoon, Daisuke turned from his computer and dropped a stack of reports on Kyoko's desk. She leafed through the stack, glancing over a few pages.

"Is this all of them?" she asked. He nodded. "Including the activities logs?" He nodded again. She set the stack down on her desk and sighed. "Well then I guess you're done. I don't understand how he expects you to actually do work at a desk for god only knows how long when your ENTIRE job is set out in the field."

"He doesn't really think things out all of the time," he replied coldly. "But if you give him long enough, he'll think of something horrendous to do to me." Kyoko sighed and shook her head.

"Why do you act like this towards him?" she asked.

"Like what?" Daisuke shot back.

"Scornful, hateful, generally unkind. What has he done to you to make you act like this?" Daisuke shrugged.

"What he usually does, ignore me with every fiber of his being," he replied nonchalantly. "But this time, this time he actually hit me.  And him actually physically striking me doesn't sit well at all with me. Mom was always opposed to physical violence, so we never actually fought. And I never expected him to do it; we've always come close but we have never actually done it. And then he goes and does it out of the blue. Now granted we weren't exactly fighting nicely, but I in no way physically provoked him. I called him a few choice words and tried to leave, but he didn't have to hit me for that. That and he won't talk to me."

"Well after an altercation like that, I wouldn't want to either," she replied. Daisuke shook his head.

"It's not last night I'm talking about," he replied. "It's this morning. I tried to call him to get this all ironed out, but he hung up on me, twice. And that signifies that he wants to have nothing to do with me, so that's why I'm acting like this."

"And what about Antonia?" Kyoko asked.

"What about Antonia?" Daisuke spat back.

"Why the hell did you yell at her? You usually don't behave that way to her, no, to any woman. I thought you were bigger than that."

"I am, but you can't help but be insulted when someone calls you, and I quote, 'a lowdown, worthless piece of shit that hides behind his partner instead of fessing up to his mistakes.' And yesterday wasn't a mistake, I meant to do everything that I did." He learned back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest. "I don't see why people can't understand that I did it because I WANTED to." He snorted angrily; his emotions were a far cry from his depressed, on the verge of collapse state he was in the day prior. But if Kyoko had a choice, she would have gone with the depressed Daisuke over the angered one. 

Daisuke displayed the same temper as his older brother; they both had very long cords and weren't easily rattled by much. But once the cord snapped, the either one of the pair could be very unstable and unpredictable. The last thing that Kyoko wanted, or needed for that matter, was an angry and uncontrollable Daisuke on her hands. She decided to diffuse the tense situation that had been created the only way she knew how to. 

"Why don't you go home for the day?" she questioned lightly. Daisuke shot her a confused look. 

"What are you trying to pull here?" he questioned back, venom leaking into his voice.

"Absolutely nothing," she replied honestly. "I just don't see any point to you being here if you don't have anything to do." Daisuke mulled over he proposition for a moment. 

"You know, you're right." He stood up from his seat. "There is no reason for me to be here." He plucked his keys from his pocket and tossed a small salute to Kyoko. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"I guess. Have a good afternoon Dice."

"You too Kyoko." With the end of the phrase, he disappeared from sight. Kyoko let go of her tightly held breath.

"That was too close," she mumbled. She returned to her own mindless work until the door swished open again. She half expected it to be Daisuke again, but instead she was met with the seething Antonia Bellucci.

"Where the hell is he?" the doctor hissed. Kyoko sighed; _'If its not one person, it's another.'_ Kyoko gazed at the woman with a degree of levelness behind it.

"You just missed him Antonia," she replied flatly. "He's left for the afternoon."

"Shit," she cursed, dropping onto the couch. "All I want to do is fucking talk to him and he's not here. My goddamned luck…" Kyoko pushed back from her desk and walked over to Antonia. 

"Why do you want to see him so bad?" she tried to keep the venom out of her own voice, but it was a difficult task. "You did curse him out not but a few hours ago." Antonia sighed.

"I wasn't thinking right," she replied. "I wanted to talk to him about this like civilized people, but that's kinda hard when he's not here." Kyoko nodded her agreement. 

"You want me to call him back here?" she asked. "He's got his cell…" Antonia shook her head.

"It's ok, I'll just go hunting for him myself." She stood and went to the door, but paused before exiting. "But if he does come back, tell him I'm looking for him." Kyoko nodded.

"I will." Antonia gave her a smile in thanks and turned to exit.  Kyoko had turned to return to her work, but stopped when she heard Antonia's startled gasp.

"Sorry doll," a thick male voice rattled the air. "No one is leaving this building while we're in control."

*              *              *

Daisuke sighed, walking back towards the Agency. _'Couldn't enjoy the afternoon could you? HAD to keep thinking about the unfinished business with your brother, DIDN'T YOU?'_ Daisuke silently cursed the relentless voice. He had been looking forward to a quiet afternoon at home, but he couldn't stop thinking about Shun and their argument. He knew it needed to be resolved and he saw no better time than the future. But as he approached the agency itself, his thoughts quickly changed.

The area around the building had been closed off by the Agency itself. There were hundreds of people gathered around the blockade, trying to get a glimpse of what was happening. Daisuke maneuvered through the thick crowd to the edge of the blockade. He was about to step over the tape that was closing off the area when an officer stopped him.

"I'm sorry sir, but this area is closed off to anyone aside from personnel." Daisuke pulled out his id and shot the officer a cold gaze. The officer mumbled a hasty apology and allowed Daisuke to pass. 

The blonde scanned the area for anyone he knew and stopped when his eyes landed on Ken Edmundo.

"Edmundo!" Daisuke shouted. The detective turned to see the blonde approaching. "What the hell happened here?" 

"Some radicals took over the entire building," he replied. "We can't get in and we can't get the hostages out." _'Hostages?'_ Daisuke's mind raced. 

"How many hostages do they have?" His eyes darted across the detective's face, trying to get a reading out of him. Edmundo shrugged.

"At least half the building," he replied. _'Half the building? What the fuck are they doing standing around here?'_

"Half the building? What's stopping you from going in there and doing something about this?" Edmundo pointed. Daisuke followed the man's arm to the armed guard standing in the doorway. 

"That's what's stopping you…" Daisuke replied flatly.

"It's not human Aurora," Edmundo replied. "We can't do squat to it." Daisuke stared the armed guard, thinking back to what Antonia had told him about android construction. _'There are two ways to shut them down. There's a pin junction in the back of the neck for maintenance purposes that will shut them down temporarily. If you wanna bring them down for the count, go for the right side of the neck. The main function cable is there and, when severed, it shuts down all processing.'_ Daisuke smiled; that would work perfectly. 

He pulled his pocket knife from where it hung on his belt and flipped the blade open. Before Edmundo could question him about his motives, Daisuke had thrown the blade. The blade landed in the side of the guard's neck with a satisfying crack of electricity. Daisuke cast one final look at Edmundo before heading into the building. He snagged his knife out of the android before heading towards the stairs.

Edmundo stared in disbelief; his mind couldn't comprehend what had jus happened and what was happening. It took him a moment to snap out of his trance.

"AURORA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Daisuke paused at the bottom of the stairs.

"Cleaning up the mess you all have made." And with that, he disappeared into the bowels of the office building.

*              *              *

Kyoko sat next to Antonia on the couch, a heavy silence lingering in the room. The pair really had no idea what to do in a situation like this. They had thought of sending J out, but the thought of one of the assailants with a gun loaded with red-caps extinguished that idea quickly. They had spent the better part of the hour sitting on the couch, trying to come up with something, but failing miserably.

"I wish Daisuke was here," Kyoko mumbled. Antonia looked at Kyoko questioningly.

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"Because," Kyoko replied. "He's trained to handle situations like this. He knows how to get out of them relatively unharmed."

"Key word being relatively," Antonia replied flatly. Kyoko sighed.

"It wouldn't matter because we'd be out of here," she replied. Antonia nodded. They sat in silence for a few moments again until the door swished open. Every now and again, their captors came to make sure they weren't up to something funny.  But it wasn't a gun wielding captor that walked through the door this time.

"Damn these bastards, they weight too fucking much." Daisuke dropped the unconscious form of a captor just inside of the door. He shrugged out of his coat, threw it across the room, and pushed up his sleeves before addressing the two women. "Kyoko, gun." She sat there, stunned.  "Don't give me that shit now. I'm working on the SMALLEST timetable known to man. The sooner I get out of here, the sooner I get this mess taken care of."

Kyoko hesitated for a moment before getting up. She walked over to the vault, waved her id in front of it and pulled out Daisuke's gun. She was hesitant about giving it to him, but against armed intruders, it was his best bet. 

"You think you're going to need more than four?" she questioned, her hand resting on the box of bullets. Daisuke shook his head.

"No. The only assholes who deserve to die are the one who started this." Kyoko nodded and pulled the bullets out of the vault before shutting it. She walked over to Daisuke and placed the gun in his right hand and the bullets into his left. Daisuke loaded the three regular ones into the gun and handed the red-cap back to Kyoko. She folded his hand around it and pushed it back towards him. 

"Keep it. I have a feeling you're gonna need it." Daisuke shook his head, trying to get her to take it back.

"I can't, my brother would kill me if he found out I'm using one of these in the building."

"I don't think your brother is gonna care much about what your using once this is all said and done." Kyoko and Daisuke turned to Antonia. 

"What do you mean by that?" Daisuke asked, slightly confused. 

"You don't know what's going on?" Antonia asked. Daisuke shook his head again. "Daisuke, they have your brother."

*              *              *

Daisuke hovered just outside the outer door to his brother's office. The little resistance he had been met with had been easily dealt with and now he was going for the jugular of the operation. He pushed the door open quietly, scanning the area for anyone he hadn't heard. When he deemed it safe, he crept into the room, shut the door behind him, and walked over to the desk next to the door to the main office. He leaned over it to find Shun's secretary hiding behind it. He pressed his finger to his lips to indicate that she should be quiet and crept behind the desk and squatted next to her.

"Are you ok?" he whispered. She nodded. "Have they done anything…" She shook her head before he could finish his sentence.

"They haven't done anything yet," she replied, mirroring his tone. "But I don't think they're going to hold out much longer." Daisuke nodded.

"How many of them are there?"

"No less than two, but no more than five. I didn't get a good count." Daisuke gave her a reassuring smile. 

"Ok. Now you need to get out of here. Go quickly and round up anyone you can and get out of the building. Just leave the guys in the halls where they are, they can be taken care of. Do you understand how imperative it is that you move as quickly as possible?" She nodded. "Good, then go." She hesitated for a moment before leaving the office. The outer door hung slightly ajar, but Daisuke paid it little heed for anyone on the outside was no longer a threat to him. 

He moved back around to the front of the desk and crouched low on the floor and next to the wall. He carefully pushed one of the twin doors open and listened in on the conversation, a plan of attack slowly solidifying in his mind.

*              *              *

"Look Aurora," the leader growled. "Just give us what we want an' we'll leave you, and this cute little agency of yours, well enough alone." Shun gave the man a steely, cold glare. His assailant was a Chinese man of rather large stature, but nothing he couldn't handle in one on one combat, that is if he didn't have a machine gun hanging over his back and a pistol at his side.

"What kind of invalid do you take me as?" Shun hissed back. "I'm not going to give up what you want just for the sake of this building."

"And what of the people in the building?" the leader growled. "What about them, my good man? How do you take responsibility for so many deaths?" Shun growled; he was up between a rock and a hard place in this situation.

"What do you want?" he asked, finally caving. The leader smiled.

"It's rather simple," he replied nonchalantly. "We want your brother and that android of his." Shun was floored by his response. J he could understand, but Daisuke didn't make any sense. He couldn't figure out why anybody would want his brother. _'From the way you acted yesterday, it doesn't seem like you want him too much either, now does it?'_ He pushed the chastising voice aside for the time being.

"What the hell do you want with my brother?" Shun hissed.

"Simple, to be rid of him." Shun's throat tightened at the man's blunt reply. "Once he's out of our hair, we won't have anyone to bungle our plans anymore, will we?" The man leaned over Shun's desk, his face lying inches from the chief's. "Good thought, isn't it?" 

"Oh yes, a great one, if I hadn't bungled your plans all ready." The man stood back to his full height, and turned slowly.

Daisuke was leaning against the wall next to the doors, a smug smile plastered on his face. "I take it you all missed the class on hostage situations. It's a lot easier to get what you wish when you're playing with a full deck. Crying shame I had left before you all got here. Puts the odds a bit in my favor now don't it?" The man stared at Daisuke.

"But.. but how did you…?"

"Let's say your companions are lacking a bit in the brains department my friend." The man stared at him, reveling in his cockiness. He was the mongoose in the cobra nest, but this nest had more than one cobra in it.

"Oh really? Well, I don't think you'll find that much of a problem anymore." He tossed his head left and three more men stepped out of the shadows. "You see, I never travel alone."

"Well that's good to know," Daisuke replied. "It makes it more fun for me." The Chinese man snorted and ran at Daisuke. Daisuke pushed himself off the wall and ducked under the man's attack, pulling his gun. He got one shot off before another man plowed into him, knocking his gun under the edge of Shun's desk. But the action had come too late; the bullet had ripped straight through one man's throat and out through his spinal column. The dead body crumpled to the floor, but Daisuke paid no heed to it. His attention was locked on the man in front of him.

The burly man had his wrist in a death lock and was reaching for his gun. Daisuke twisted his arm out of the man's grip, latched on to his wrist, and threw him across the room. A few books tumbled from the shelf that the man collided with. 

The next henchman swung at Daisuke, but the blonde ducked out of his line of site at the last moment. Daisuke swept the man's feet out from under him, but that move backfired on him. When the man fell, he latched on to Daisuke's shirt and pulled the man down with him. Daisuke twisted out of the man's grip, and rolled to his feet, just in front of Shun's desk, his back to his brother.

He moved to pick up his gun a finish the job, but froze as pain ripped through his right shoulder. His shoulder burned and the pain raced through his body causing his knees to give out. He collapsed into a sitting position, leaning heavily on Shun's desk. His breaths came in short pants from the shock of the impact. It took him a minute to regain control of his senses and figure out what had happened.

At the other end of the room, the ring leader's pistol was clenched in his hand, smoking.

"I think this will go a hell of a lot easier if you behave yourself my dear boy. We're not quite ready to kill you yet, but believe me; by the time I'm done with you here you'll wish you were dead." He turned his gaze from Daisuke to his two downed henchmen. They were both getting back to their feet slowly. "Are you two all right?" They both nodded.

Daisuke took this brief lapse of concentration to switch the red cap in his left hand to his right and to pick up his gun. He knew that he wasn't as good of a shot with his left hand, but with his right arm laced in pain and seemingly useless, a bad shot was better shot than no shot at all. He pushed himself up with what strength he had and targeted the man in front of him. 

Before the leader could sound of a warning, Daisuke's second bullet ripped into the flesh of the man's back. The man crumpled forward; the wound wasn't immediately deadly, but it was fatal none the less. 

Daisuke cocked his gun again and aimed for the leader's head. His world flashed with pain again before he could pull the trigger. 

His breath caught in his throat, Daisuke looked down at his leg to survey the damage. His thigh was bleeding profusely and he couldn't put weight on his right leg anymore. Releasing a slow sigh, Daisuke raised his gun again. 

The blood from the third dead man splattered the bookshelves behind him along with a few fragments of bone and grey matter. The bullet left a red hole where it had entered and a gaping hole where it had exited. The body pitched forward and hit the floor, adding to the growing pool of coagulating blood on the tile.

The leader smiled cockily from his position at the other end of the room. 

"That was a valiant effort you made there, but it was a futile one at that. I still have three shots to go and you're out." Daisuke smiled weakly.

"Really?" He slid the red cap into the chamber and cocked his gun again. "I hate to tell you," he said raising his gun again. "But there just happens to be one left with your name written all over it." The pair stood staring at each other and the last two shots were fired at almost the same instant.

The Chinese man had no hope when the bullet hit his skull. The cap exploded on contact, blowing his head clear off his shoulders and plastering blood, brain, and bone onto the wall behind him. But his shot was not a complete loss.

Unable to move fast enough, the bullet ripped into Daisuke's left side, almost exiting out the other side. The pain swirled around his head, finally consuming all of his senses. 

Shun, shaken from his daze that he had entered once Dice had entered the room, dashed around his desk and caught his brother before he collapsed onto the floor. He carefully lowered him onto the floor, minding the three bleeding wounds. 

Shun ripped off his belt and tied it around Daisuke's upper thigh, slowing the circulation to the wound and slowing the bleeding. He pulled off his jacket and tied it around Daisuke's shoulder to quell the bleeding there, before pulling his brother into a careful embrace and placing his hands over the last wound. 

Daisuke hissed at the sudden application of pressure, and as much as he wanted to argue, he didn't; he knew it was for the best. 

Shun's gaze finally met with Daisuke's; he didn't like what he saw. Pain was painted all over his face and he was struggling to remain conscious. 

"Daisuke?" Shun asked quietly, trying to keep his voice from cracking. "Daisuke, you need to stay with me." Daisuke shut his eyes and focused on his breathing for a moment before looking up at Shun again.

"I'm trying Shun," he replied weakly. "But it's so hard to fight it…" Shun tightened his embrace a little more.

"I know it is Dice, but you have to try," he replied, the first few tears sliding down his face. "You're stronger than this; I know you can make it. You just have to hold out for the paramedics." Daisuke weakly lifted his hand to Shun's face and brushed the tears away.

"I'm sorry Shun," he whispered between coughs. "I'm so sorry." Shun shook his head fervently.

"Don't say that Dice, you've got nothing to be sorry about. You've done nothing wrong." Daisuke stared up at his brother's face, trying to fight back against the darkness that was closing in on his line of sight. 

"I'm sorry Shun," he whispered through a few escaping tears. "I… I… I can't…"

"Shhh Daisuke, it'll be all right. The paramedics will be here soon." Daisuke locked gazes with his brother one last time.

"I love you Shun,' he whispered, his eyes shutting slowly. After a moment his arm fell limp to his side; Shun panicked.

"Daisuke? DAISUKE?" His brother didn't respond. "Daisuke, please; you have to wake up. You can't leave me yet. Daisuke…please…."

*              *              *

Kyoko and Antonia stood on the edges of the crowd gathered outside. No one was quite sure what was going on, but they all knew the eerie silence that hung over the area was not a good omen, nor was the team of paramedics that had run into the building a few minutes ago. 

Kyoko scanned the crowd, looking for the familiar lanky form of her office mate. She still couldn't find him or the taller figure that she always identified as his brother. 

"Well?" Antonia asked. Kyoko shook her head; she still hadn't seen either of them. "Don't worry, I'm sure they're…all….right." Kyoko turned, wondering what Antonia was staring at. 

The paramedics had just rushed past, all of them working furiously and barking commands at each other. She wonder briefly who had been injured, but was distracted again.

"I TOLD YOU, **I AM FINE!**" The chief's angered voice cut through the air like a knife. "If you ask me again, I will make DAMN SURE that you leave the scene in an ambulance of your OWN!" The paramedic backed away from the angered man. Shun took a few deep breaths to calm himself before striding over to the ambulance and stepping in. 

The gathered crowd had fallen into an apprehensive silence. The sight of their chief covered in blood that was most definitely not his own and shouting at a paramedic had left them unsure of what to say about the situation. It was obvious that this was far worse than they had ever imagined. 

Kyoko exchanged worried glances with Antonia. The other woman chewed on her lip in apprehension and insecurity. Antonia had wished death upon the younger blonde, but had never truly meant it.

Kyoko turned back to watch the ambulance leave, hoping against hope that her officemate wasn't going to leave the world just yet.

*              *              *

His lithe form took up the entire length of the bench in the surgery waiting room. His right arm hung limply over the edge to the bench, barely brushing the floor. His left arm was curled under his head as a makeshift pillow and his blonde hair was splayed everywhere. In short, Shun Aurora looked like he had died. 

He had spent two hour in the waiting room of the ER just to be told next to nothing and to be directed to there he now slept on the surgery floor. That had been three hours prior. 

He had tried his best to stay awake, but the grief, worry, and drain from all the adrenaline running out of his system had caused the man to fall asleep on the bench.

Kyoko and Antonia stood in the doorway, wondering how long the chief had been there.

"You think we should wake him?" Kyoko asked quietly. 

"He's the only one who knows what's happening," Antonia replied quietly. "So I guess we kinda have too to find out what's going on." Kyoko nodded and entered the waiting room quietly, Antonia following close behind. 

Kyoko squatted next to Shun's sleeping for and shook him gently.

"Shun?" The blonde groaned and buried his head further into his arm. "Shun?" The chief rolled toward Kyoko and blinked a few times to bring the world back into focus. Kyoko smiled gently at him.

"Michlan?" he questioned what are you doing here.

"Finding out how my accident prone office mate is faring," she replied, slightly deadpan. Shun pushed himself into a sitting position and ran his hand trough his hair to try and restore order to it. He stretched before addressing the women.

"Well the best I can tell you is that he was shot three times and is still alive," Shun replied. "But that's on the hopeful side of things at this point." Kyoko and Antonia sat down on either side of the chief.

"How long have you been up here?" Antonia asked quietly.

"What time is it?" Antonia looked at the clock on the opposite wall.

"Seven thirty."

"Seven thirty? Shit; it's been five hours."

"You mean they've been working on him up here for five hours?" Kyoko asked, stunned. Shun shook his head.

"I've only been up here for three. But my god…"

"Have you heard anything yet?" Antonia asked. Shun shook his head again. 

"The nurses who keep passing by tell me the same thing with that sympathetic smile of theirs, 'We're sorry hun, but we haven't heard anything else.'" He sighed, burying his head in his hands. "I just wish I knew what was happening…" Kyoko stared at her boss; she had no idea how to fix this. This was beyond anything she had ever experienced and it was landing hard on her too. She gently took his hand into hers and he turned to look at her.

"He'll make it," she whispered. "He's too stubborn to leave like this." Shun smiled weakly.

"You're right…"

*              *              *

Three hours passed, spanning like weeks fro the trio. It was hard to understand what was taking so long, but they had no idea what was going on. When they thought that all hope was lost, a doctor entered the room, running her hands through her hair.

"Shun Aurora?" Shun looked up from his spot. "Would you rather we speak alone?" Shun shook his head.

"They deserve to know too," he replied. The doctor shrugged.

"Fine by me." She shoved her hands into the pockets of her lab coat before continuing. "To say the least, your brother is a lucky man. He should, by all conventional means, be dead. It boggles every mind that worked on him, every mind in that room, and every mind on this floor that he lived through that. Now I don't mean to be cruel or anything, but he should have died Mr. Aurora. He flat lined three times on the table. He was clinically dead for five minutes." The colour drained from Shun's face. "Somehow we brought him back, but he's barely clinging to life as it is." She sighed. "But the good news is that we got all three bullets out and repair all the damage done. He's currently in the ICU on a respirator and in a coma. When and if he does wake up, he's going to have a long road to recovery ahead of him. Feel free to go up and see him, but I will warn you now that it isn't a pretty sight. Is there anything else you want to know?" Shun shook his head, unwilling to trust his voice. The doctor smiled at him gently and walked out. 

The trio sat in a stunned silence, not willing to trust anything beyond the wall of emotions they were feeling.

*              *              *

Shun stood in the doorway of the dimly lit room, unable to move any further. The only noise that reverberated off the walls was the steady hiss of the respirator and the cardiac monitor assuring him that his brother was technically alive. Tubes snaked from everywhere, attaching to different points of paled skin on one end and to a varying assortment of machines and bags behind the bed. 

Shun slowly walked over to the bed side and sat down. He still couldn't believe that it was his brother in that bed, his brother that was clinging to the fringes of life. He had never seen him this pale before and it frightened him. He carefully picked up Daisuke's bandaged hand and ran his free hand through the younger man's hair. 

"Daisuke?" he asked quietly, his voice cracking. "Daisuke, if you can hear me, please don't leave us. I'm begging you. I'd never forgive myself if it ended this way…" His words caught in his throat as he began to sob. _'Please Dice, please…'_

*              *              *

Days rolled into weeks and still no signs of live from the Special Forces Unit agent. But despite the lack of hope from everyone around, Shun was still found at his brother's bedside everyday. It had been nine agonizing weeks, but he was still there at the same time everyday, hoping with hope that had been lost with most everyone else. 

That day had found him sleeping on the edge of the bed, his blonde hair splayed everywhere. The staff continued their work quietly so as not to disturb him, he looked like he needed a good rest. 

The stress had worn away at his nerves, leaving him on the verge of collapse. And today he had given into that urge, allowing himself a peaceful sleep he hadn't had in a while.

*              *              *

Pain flooded his senses suddenly. The last thing he had known was the sweet euphoria of the darkness only to be awoken by this flash of pain, the first flash of pain he had felt in a while. He slowly opened his eyes and was met with the blurry image of the ceiling with what his mind comprehended to be a tube in front of it. After a few moments of slow comprehension he realized that very tube was currently wedged down his throat and it was wedged rather painfully. 

He began to panic until another dull realization became a solid one: he wasn't alone. 

He carefully turned his head to see the sleeping form of a man on the edge of his bed. He gently knitted his fingers in the blonde strands, smiling inwardly. It was a heartwarming scene.

Shun became duly aware of someone else's presence as he slowly woke up. He rubbed at his eyes to clear them and went to sit up when he realized that someone was playing with his hair. He turned slightly and trailed his gaze up the length of the bed and locked with Daisuke's own hazed gaze. The thought of his brother looking at him almost caused Shun to burst into tears. He sat up and carefully to Daisuke's hand into his, their gazes never leaving each other. 

"Daisuke?" He asked quietly. Daisuke weakly squeezed Shuns hand. Shun swallowed the lump forming in his throat and smiled against the first few falling tears. "Thank god you're alive. I thought you were gone…" Shun stopped mid sentence when the nurse entered the room.

"Well, well, well," she said stepping up to the other side of the bed. "Look who has returned to the land of the living. Glad to have you back with us." She flicked a few switches on the respirator. "What say we get that tube out of your throat huh?" Daisuke nodded. The nurse disconnected the tube and grabbed on the end. "Now this is going to hurt son,. But only of a sec. Take a deep breath in…" Daisuke did as he was instructed. "And let it out." The nurse yanked the other end of the tube from Daisuke's throat, leaving him in a fit of violent coughing. It took a moment, but they finally subsided. "Go easy on the chord there, they're gonna need some rest too. Now you just call if you need anything. And you," she turned to Shun. "Are almost out of time. He'll be here tomorrow." Shun nodded. "Ok then. I will be on my way." Shun watched her leave before turning back to Daisuke.

"Shun I…" Daisuke started weakly. Shun pressed his finger to Daisuke's lips.

"Don't. I was a stupid fight, we were both at fault. And I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have hit you, I was out of line. But I'll be damned if I ever do that again…" A few stray tears slipped down the planes of Shun's face. Daisuke wiggled his way out of Shun's grip and brushed them away.

"Don't worry about it," he whispered, his hand still resting on Shun's face. "It doesn't matter any more." Shun smiled.

"No it doesn't." The pair sat quietly for a few moments until Shun saw that Daisuke was falling asleep. Shun gently placed Daisuke's hand back at his side, stood up, and placed a gentle kiss on his brother's forehead. "You need your rest, so I'll be going." Daisuke nodded, trying to fight of the welcoming darkness. "I'll be back tomorrow." Shun smiled at this brother and began to walk away.

"Shun?" He stopped in the doorway.

"Yeah Dice?"

"I love you Shun." Shun smiled earnestly at his brother.

"I love you too Dice."

*              *              *

Ten days, sixteen pages of ten font, and too many nights typing and the blood thing is DONE! And the funny thing about this is I KNOW I'm never going to see more than ten reviews on this thing, EVER. Oh well. At least I'm happy with the way it came out and now the Heat Guy J fans out there have something to read. 


End file.
